Shadowed Soul
by Daiichi
Summary: Post Grave fic. will be B/S eventually as well as others. rated for possible language. my first fic so please be kind. **new chapter 3 up**
1. Prelude

Shadowed Soul

By: Daiichi

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.  

Note: This is a post-"Grave" fic so any story up to the end of the season may or may not appear.  Please review and let me know if my first fic is worth going on with.

It was a night like any other night.  The sky was clear, showing off the wonders of the starlights.  Along the quiet road in the middle of nowhere, there was a bar that broke into the silence of the desert.  This bar was far from ordinary, frequented by a wide variety of demonic ruffians.  On most nights, there would only be the bar regulars and a few others drowning their sorrows or just relaxing.  Though it would be hard to know that from looking at it tonight.  Tonight, you see, was a special occasion.  A new and large gang of demons had formed and was celebrating their most recent bout of carnage in a nearby town.  

The celebration was suddenly interrupted by a loud shot by the door.  All heads turned towards the disturbance to find a lone figure standing tall with a shotgun slung over its shoulder.  The figure was dressed head to toe in black and even had a ski mask on to cover its face.  The one part of his apparel that stood out though was his long billowing coat that seemed to hide something more mysterious beneath it.  The demons assumed he was a man by his small muscular build and human shape.  They were about to continue in their celebrating when suddenly the man in black pumped the shotgun and blew off the head of the demon that looked like the leader of the group.  They all were shocked and stood up to confront this intruder.  

"Now that I have your attention," he spoke muffled through the ski mask, "Am I right in assuming you lowlifes are responsible for the trouble in that town down the road?"

"And so what if we are runt?" Grunted the large demon toward the front of the crowd.  "What are you gonna do about it?"

"Oh, just a bit of payback for the lost lives is all."  The man replied smugly.  With that, he fired off another shell into the demon's chest causing all hell to break loose.  He moved fast and smooth through the gang killing as many of them as he could.  The demons were surprised by his inhuman strength and speed but they used their numbers and were beginning to gain the upper hand.  Or so they thought. 

Just when they thought they had won, he pulled something out of his jacket pocket and threw it on the ground.  It silently exploded and covered the bar in a dense smoke.  By the time the mob was able to see again, the man had vanished completely leaving a small bag filled with explosives in the spot he once occupied.

The man calmly walked away to his motorcycle as the bar exploded in a ball of flame that could be seen for miles.  "All in a nights work," he said as he rode off into the darkness.


	2. The Scoop

Shadowed Soul

Part 2: The Scoop

Note: please review and let me know what you think.

Buffy was sitting at her kitchen table waiting for dawn to come home from her first day of school so they could head to the Magic Box for an 'urgent' meeting according to Giles.  There was always something going on that was 'urgent' in Sunnydale but Buffy knew they would be able to handle pretty much anything these days.  With the addition of Dawn to the team and the return of Willow and Giles from England, the Scooby gang was stronger than ever.

She didn't mind too much that Dawn was late since it usually gave her some alone time but too much alone time was never good.  Alone time led to thinking and Buffy didn't usually like to think too much about how her life was going.  

Willow had moved out when she got back from her trip to the witch coven in England since there was a lot of bad feelings and damage left from the magic incident only a few months before.  As it turned out, Willow had invoked too much magic in her rampage and was now unable to totally go without it.  Giles had said the magic was now part of her and he spent the entire summer helping her learn to control her powers.  Buffy and Dawn knew that the witch had learned a lot over the past few months but they couldn't just forgive and forget like it never happened.  Buffy slowly allowed Willow to join her on the occasional patrol and she came to realize that Willow was still a very powerful witch.  She used her powers with a new degree of self control that surprised Buffy.

Dawn was now back in school.  She was trying really hard to stay on track this year with her classes and was training with Buffy every chance she got.  Buffy knew that Dawn was still a human with only human strength, but they had decided together that she needed to learn to fight and defend herself against the many demons that roamed the streets.  The younger sister was actually a quick learner and Buffy helped her learn to use all the weapons and to fight without them.  'Can't always reach for a weapon' she had told her although Buffy wouldn't tell her sister where she had come up with that idea.

Anya and Xander never got back together over the summer.  Xander tried his hardest but Anya was just too hurt to try and rekindle any sort of relationship with him.  Anya still had her demons powers but she didn't do much vengeance demon work lately.  She said that after the whole Willow situation, she just didn't have it in her anymore.  She re-opened the magic shop with Giles though, and business was going pretty well seeing as how the place was pretty much destroyed only a short time ago.

After realizing it was futile to keep trying with Anya, Xander pretty much tried to keep himself busy doing work and training.  Ever since he was the key figure in saving the world from Willow, he has been pushing himself to the limit on his training for fighting evil.  He set up a workout room in his apartment since it was too awkward to work out in the Magic Box with Anya there.  He became very adept in hand-to-hand fighting and that, with the addition of his increasing strength, was making him a very formidable ally to patrol with.

Buffy eventually started to drift into more painful reflection and thought of Ihim/I.  At first everything seemed like a bad dream playing itself over and over again.  But the more she thought about it, the more she realized it wasn't all bad.  He had comforted her when she needed it even when her friends wouldn't have understood her pain.  He never judged her when she poured her heart out to him; he just listened and was there for her.  It was so much better with him before that night….

She was interrupted from her thoughts when Dawn came in the back door.  "Hey Buffy."

"Oh, hey Dawnie."

"Am I interrupting something?"

"Hmm?  Oh sorry, no you aren't.  Just thinking."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Nah, lets just head over to the Magic Box.  Giles wanted everyone to meet there today.  Said it was urgent."

"Isn't it always?"

"Yeah, but we are already late so I guess we should hurry up."

When they entered the Magic Box, everyone was already there waiting for them.  Anya was behind the cash register helping a customer.  Willow was sitting at the table reading through a new demon bestiary book that Anya had just got in.  Xander was sitting next to her eating a sandwich.  Giles was standing next to the table with an impatient look on his face.

"Well I guess now that you have decided to join us, we can begin the meeting" said Giles.

"Sorry, it was my fault" replied Dawn with a sad puppy-dog face.

"Well….I guess we can forgive you this time.  Just try to be on time next time." He gave in.

Buffy decided to get to the point.  "So Giles, what's this big urgent news you had to give us today?"

"Yeah, what kind of trouble is brewing today?" added Xander.

"Well," he began, "I don't know if it is apocalyptic information but there are rumors of a new force destroying the demon population all over the southwest.  I am sure you have noticed the decline in demon and vampire activity recently."

"And this is a bad thing because?" interrupted Buffy.

"Well it seems this 'thing' that is killing all the demons has been slowly moving in this general direction.  The latest incident involving this 'thing' occurred at a secluded demon bar out in the desert.  It seems a gang of demons stormed a small town near there and looted anything of worth and killing over thirty people.  These demons stopped at the bar to celebrate and soon after, the bar exploded killing them all.  No one knows who was responsible at the moment."

"It was probably the shadow" Anya chimed in as she was closing the front doors for the day.

"The what?" they all answered in unison.  They were all startled by Anya's input.

"The shadow.  I heard from a few demon friends of mine that there is some guy they call the shadow running around enacting vengeance on demons.  I figured it was just some rumor since not many people would be dumb enough to attack large masses of demons at a time all by themselves" she explained.

"Astounding" said Giles.

"So what's the problem then Giles?  So what if some guy is fighting back against these demons.  We do it all the time." Buffy asked.

Giles replied, "it might not present a problem at the moment, but anyone who could do damage like that to groups of demons couldn't be completely human.  I suggest you keep your guard up while on patrol for the time being.  At least until we can rule out this 'shadow' as a threat.  Heading in this direction could mean an interest in the hellmouth or even an interest in Buffy or Dawn."

"Don't worry g-man, we'll keep a look out for this shadow guy." Xander said as he was getting his stuff together to leave.

Anya stopped everyone from leaving, "I think you guys should stay indoors if the shadow is coming here.  Some of the strongest demons I know are afraid of this guy, so there is no telling how powerful he is.  I hear he attacks fast and hard without even saying a word, some don't even see him coming."

Xander thought about his ex-love's words for a moment. "Well I guess now that you have scared the bejesus out of me, I will go home and break out the big weapons to protect myself."

"Well, everyone stay together on patrols and keep a look out for him but try to avoid engaging in any form of contact with him until we know more." Ordered Giles.

TBC…..


	3. Encounter

Shadowed Soul

Part 3: Encounter

Note: PLEASE review, it lets me know people are actually reading the story.  Don't be discouraged by this plot, I said it would be B/S eventually so just be patient and let the story play out.  All will be explained in due time.  Oh and I just finished watching some recordings of eps from FX to refresh more content, so don't be surprised if you see a small reference to a season 5 ep.  Please enjoy.

"Can we go home yet Buffy?" complained Dawn.

"Hey you are the one who said she wanted to come along on patrols."

"I know I SAID that but I didn't mean just walking around for hours doing nothing."

Xander chimed in, "Yeah Buff, it does seem a bit slow with the slayage tonight."

"Fine!" Buffy huffed, "just a bit longer though guys?  I have a feeling something bad is gonna happen."

They reluctantly continued to follow Buffy through the cemetery, casually strolling like there couldn't be anything to harm them out in the darkness.  Buffy suddenly realized they had ended up in a cemetery that had more than its fair share of memories.  Memories both good and bad fluttered through her mind at the sight of that once special crypt.  

She was torn from her reverie by a screaming sister.  She was about to say something when she followed Dawn's line of sight and saw a large group of demons storming into Spike's old crypt.  Buffy and her companions slowly and cautiously approached the crypt but stopped dead in their tracks when they heard sounds of a struggle from inside.  Mere moments later, a figured came running out of the entrance to the tomb.  He looked fairly calm for just being in a brawl and even calmer when he started to walk away from the door.  He reached into his coat and pulled out a small box and then pushed a button on it.

Buffy, Xander and Dawn were toppled over from the shockwave of the explosion, but the shadow just kept walking away like nothing had happened.  Buffy was instantly on her feet and running to confront him for blowing up a place containing so many of her past memories.  "Hey, stop right there!" she exclaimed.  He just kept walking toward his now visible motorcycle, completely ignoring her presence.  She ran around in front of him and blocked his path.  "I said, stop right there you stupid 'shadow'"  He immediately stopped in his tracks when she put her hand to his chest effectively holding him in place with her strength.

"Out of my way, slayer" he said muffled through his mask.  She was taken aback by his comment.  "Oh, so I see you know who I am.  I guess its your turn to reveal who you are and why you just blew up that crypt over there."

"Who I am is no matter to anyone. And that crypt over there?  I just killed about half a dozen or so demons with that blast, so you should be THANKING me and not getting in my way.

"Who said you could come to my town and start blowing up crypts that don't even belong to you." She said, stepping closer and getting more aggressive with him.

"Didn't seem occupied to me, Slayer.  I knew it would be vacant so I decided to use it for my little barbeque there."  He glanced over his shoulder at his work with a slight feeling of accomplishment.

"How do you know the resident isn't going to come back and find his place in ruins, huh?"

"I am fairly sure of that one.  Met that soulless monster a while back and he suffered the same fate as all the others."

"You what?!?!"  She yelled.  

"You heard me slayer."  He was about to say something else but was interrupted when she came flying at him with a powerful kick.  He narrowly dodged it and stepped away from her to prevent any close combat.  She was still furious and continued her assault by throwing a flurry of punches toward him.  He seemed to be just as fast as her if not faster as he dodged punches and kicks with smooth, graceful movements.  He continued to block and dodge her attacks, often pushing her off balance when she left an opening.  

Xander and Dawn were slowly regaining their bearings and looked up to see Buffy engaged in combat with a dark dressed figure.  "We gotta help her!" exclaimed Xander as he rushed for his fallen sword and then ran towards the fight ready to swing.  He yelled for Buffy to duck as he swung the sword in a wide sweeping arc towards her opponent.  The shadow easily ducked under the blade and quickly raised his arm, slamming it across Xander's neck and chest in a strong clothesline.  Xander was knocked out cold as his head slammed to the ground in a loud thud.

"Xander!" Dawn yelled as she also rushed into combat.  The shadow turned to employ the same tactic on his newest assailant but stopped in mid-swing as he saw her rushing towards him.  She swung the sword with all her might at the dark man but was completely taken by surprise when his hand reached out and grabbed her sword by the blade in mid-air.  Gripping tightly with his hand, he yanked the sword out of her hands and threw it out into the darkness of the nearby trees.

"Go away little one, this is between me and the slayer.  No need for anyone else to get hurt."

She thought about continuing to fight but decided against it when she realized how much stronger he was than her.  She slowly backed away and started to tend to Xander as the verbal barrage from her sister resumed.

"So you just go around hunting and killing demons for the hell of it?  With no regard to whether they are even evil?"  

"Are you still hung up on this vampire that used to stay in this crypt here?  Past actions always come back to haunt the evil.  Even if they believe that they are no longer evil, no demon can ever atone for the sins they have committed against this world.  It's not like anyone would miss that THING anyways."

"THING?!? That 'thing' that you keep referring to has saved many lives in the past few years, including mine.  He didn't deserve the same fate as the rest of these demons you are killing."

He paused for a moment, looking straight at her, though she didn't know why.  "Well then slayer, what are you gonna do about it?"

She resumed her attack with increased vigor.  He resumed his game of block and dodge, never going in for a hit of his own.  This only served to enrage her more.  Buffy then decided to go for the kill and reached quickly for her stake in the back of her pants.  As she was pulling it out, he swiftly moved close to her and wrapped her in a strong hug, effectively trapping her arm that was going for the stake behind her.  The sudden closeness startled Buffy as she struggled to free herself.  But his grip was like a vice holding her in a very awkward position.  He pulled her closer and tighter than she thought possible and breathed into her ear. "You lose, slayer.  You forgot the first lesson."

With that, he left a stunned slayer and hopped on his bike and rode away into the night.

"What the hell just happened?" she whispered to herself as she watched him ride away.

Anya was disturbed from her slumber by an overwhelming feeling of vengeance radiating from somewhere near Spike's old crypt.  Spike…..wow that was someone she hadn't thought about in a while.  She had mixed feelings about how things had ended up between them, but she understood his pain somewhat from her own experience.  She couldn't concentrate on her memories at the moment though because there was someone or something out there in Sunnydale who was experiencing such strong feelings of vengeance that she started to consider helping.  She hadn't been using her demon powers for a while but she at least had to find out where these feelings were coming from.  Anya stood up and got dressed quickly because the strong aura she was sensing was beginning to fade.  When ready to go, she concentrated on the center of the aura and disappeared.

The shadow was satisfied with his kill tonight even though he ended up in a verbal and physical battle with the slayer.  He knew it was coming though since there was no way to hunt demons in Sunydale without her finding him eventually.  He just hadn't expected the meeting so soon.  Now far from the cemetery, he entered his self-made shelter to rest for the next night of hunting.  The structure was an old abandoned motel he had found down the highway a bit from the town.  He moved into the most habitable room in the place but it was far from comfortable.  It didn't matter though, since comfort is not what he was here for.

He removed his coat and gear and began to remove his mask when he barely noticed a new presence in his room.  He looked up to find Anya standing right in front of him.

She looked at his clothing first and then moved her eyes upwards to see his face.  "When did you…." She started.  "You're the shadow?"

"Bloody hell." He muttered.

TBC……


End file.
